mark kiszla
Warren one very large bust
By Mark Kiszla
Denver Post Staff Columnist
Article Last Updated: 08/14/2007 12:49:59 AM MDT


San Francisco - They called him "Big Money." And the Broncos blew it big time on
defensive tackle Gerard Warren.

Easy come, easy go.

The rapid rise and unexpected fall of Warren's career in blue and orange has
ended with a thud. When a 325-pound man gets knocked on his keister as a big,
fat bust, the shock waves can be felt throughout the Denver locker room.

Something tells me shaking up the team is exactly what coach Mike Shanahan had
in mind by making a $10 million example of Warren. He figures to be traded as
soon as the Broncos can find an NFL team willing to give them anything of
marginal worth - an old, scratched copy of a Madden video game and half a bag of
Cheetos might close the deal - in return for the 29-year-old defender.

As Warren has painfully discovered, Shanahan does not forgive his mistakes.

He erases them.

When Warren began to vanish from participation in the team's twice-daily
workouts, safety John Lynch began to find it strange enough to suspect the
disappearing act had nothing to do with giving a veteran teammate a little rest
and relaxation.

"We get some one-a-days, but no one gets no-a-days. And (Warren) was getting
some no-a-days," Lynch said Monday night after the Broncos beat San Francisco
17-13. "When you've been around, you tend to know something's up."

For two seasons, Warren often appeared to be an immovable object in the middle
of the Denver defensive line.

Not much more than a year ago, the Broncos patted him on the back and stuffed
his wallet with a six-year, $36 million contract.

But that won't stop Shanahan from kicking Warren out the door.

When the coach has a beef, Shanahan will swallow hard and eat the losses
incurred from roughly $10 million in bonuses the team presented Warren before
this relationship went sour.

As the Broncos hit the road for their exhibition opener, Warren was left at
home, because Shanahan thought the team had a trade it now hopes to finalize
within 24 hours.

How did it all go wrong so quickly between Warren and the Broncos?

For a pretty strong hint, you did not have to read very far between the lines
when Jim Bates, the new assistant coach in charge of the Denver defense's
extreme makeover, recently detailed his tough expectations and tougher love for
players.

Any defender unable or unwilling to work to his exacting standards, Bates made
clear, risked a pink slip in the envelope where a paycheck once could be found.

"It's adjusting physically to a new defense and different techniques for the
player. But it's also a mental approach. We can't have a player out there who's
not accountable, who's busting alignments, busting assignments," Bates said.

"No. 1, you have to have a guy who's willing to adjust, because we've changed a
lot of defensive techniques. If the player is not willing to adjust, we're not
going to be able to use him."

With hindsight, even a fool like me can recognize the Broncos wagered far too
much money on a player who proved to be a bad fit for a new defense that
requires interior linemen to sacrifice their bodies and egos by doing
down-and-dirty grunt work.

While the history of Shanahan's budget-busting personnel errors is covered in
red ink, the coach does not wallow in his mistakes.

"Coach Shanahan is the head man, he makes the decisions. He's the captain of the
ship. Whatever he says goes, and I'm taking right off with him," said defensive
end Kenard Lang, also stuck in a battle for a roster spot. "He has won two Super
Bowls, so obviously he knows something we don't know."

If Warren can no longer play a major role for Denver, maybe Broncos management
had trouble envisioning him sitting quietly in a locker room that must deal with
the shaky unity inherent for a team that figures to have as many as 11 new
starters from the lineup that opened the 2006 season.

"Right here in San Fran, you saw Joe Montana get shipped out. He was maybe the
biggest icon in the history of the game. And it happened to me in Tampa Bay,"
Lynch said. "So nothing does shock me."

Although Warren made nearly 100 tackles in two seasons for Denver, the art of
this deal will be for the Broncos to find a team willing to trade so much as a
late-round draft choice for him.

After being the No. 3 pick in the first round by Cleveland in 2001, Warren has
now worn out his welcome in two NFL cities, and only a team truly desperate for
defensive-line help would risk playing the fool again.

If the Broncos need to cut Warren, so be it.

The doghouse of Shanahan is built to the same specifications as a roach motel.
The front door has no exit. Offending athletes check in. But they don't check
out.

From Trevor Pryce to Jake Plummer, better players than Warren have wasted
Denver's money and paid with their jobs.

Staff writer Mark Kiszla can be reached at 303-954-1053 or
mkiszla@denverpost.com.


--
Fred Waiss, Sr.
"Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then."----Bob Seger

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